Adventurous Claims
by poisonesse
Summary: While Stefan and Katherine work together in Mystic Falls to research Klaus, Damon and Elena go on a road trip together. Will romance ensue? And what on earth is Tyler up to?
1. Truth or Dare

**Summary: Damon, Elena and Stefan have had this road trip planned for a while. It was meant to take Elena's mind off Klaus and the sacrifice. But when Stefan pulls out due to information on Klaus, that just leaves Damon and Elena. Alone, on a road trip. That's only happened once before. What will happen this time when it happens again, with exposed feelings in the air? Meanwhile, Stefan and Katherine are forced to work together to dig out information on Klaus. Caroline tries to cheer Tyler up after his mother is attacked by an 'animal', namely Klaus. Bonnie and Jeremy help Stefan and Katherine get the information. **

**Pairings: Damon/Elena, Stefan/Katherine, Caroline/Tyler, /Bonnie/Jeremy. **

**Chapter One. **

**Damon's POV. **

I sat in the car with Elena.

'Your silence is deafening.' I commented, turning to face her. She scowled at me, much to my amusement. 'You know, we're going to have to get over our differences if we want this road trip to work out.' I added.

'What's there to get over? I've accepted your multiple personalities and the fact that neither of them are good people, and are in fact both psychopathic, self-serving monsters.' she muttered. Did she really think that of me? Her face showed no hint of bluff. I hid my hurt and smirked.

'Ouch. Are you this hurtful to all your road-trip buddies?' I teased. She rolled her eyes.

'Only you, Damon.' she sighed.

If only someone could say that about me and not mean it in a _bad _way! But no. It seems Stefan was the only one for both Elena _and _Katherine.

'Come on, Elena. We're going to be spending the whole day together! Wanna play truth or dare?' I asked.

'No, Damon!' she fixed her gaze on the road.

'Well, I guess if you're too _chicken..._' I trailed off.

'I'm not chicken! Fine, I'll play!' she said.

'Excellent.' I pulled up next to the Chirpy Joe's bar. 'I go first. So, Elena. Truth, or dare?' I asked, doing the 'eye thing' that I know bugs her.

'Dare.' she said immediately. I raised an eyebrow.

'You _are_ brave. Okay, I dare you to... take off your shirt, and keep if off for, say, two hours.' I waggled my eyebrows at her. There was no way she was doing _that_, of course. But that would mean she'd have to do the penalty. She looked appalled, but, much to my surprise, began to unbutton her shirt.

'Fine. I can do that.' she pulled her shirt off and sat there, in her bra. I stared at her. She raised an eyebrow.

'It was _your_ dare, Damon. Now it's my turn.' she smiled devilishly. _Uh oh,_ I thought. 'Truth or dare?'

'Hmm... truth.' I decided, eyeing her shirt on the floor. I didn't want her payback for making her do that.

'Okay. Why do you kill people?' she asked. _That_ surprised me. Why would she want to know that? Unless she wanted to see... my more human side.

How the hell should I reply to that?

**Stefan's POV.**

I was beginning to regret letting Elena and Damon go on this road trip alone. But she'd be safer out of Mystic Falls with Damon to protect her. He just wished he was there to make sure Damon didn't try anything, and so he wasn't stuck here with Katherine. Bonnie and Jeremy's presence helped, of course, but still... she was such a bitch!  
>'Hey, Stefan, you should check this one for information.' Bonnie murmured, holding a book out to me while she was engrossed in her own.<br>'I've checked the last seven for information, Bonnie. What makes you think this one will be any different?' I mumbled, but I opened the book and began to scan the pages anyway. Unsurprisingly, I found nothing.  
>'Hey! I think I found something, about the Originals!' Jeremy called from the other room. I looked up. I gestured for Bonnie to go to him.<br>'Ladies first.' I smiled. She just walked away. She didn't trust me, because I'm a vampire.  
>'Katherine. Jeremy might have found something.' I said to her. She was sprawled out on <em>my<em> couch, next to a pile of books provided by Vanessa, Isobel's assistant.

'I'm aware.' there was a playful smirk on her lips. The lips I once wanted so badly to kiss. Now I wanted to tear them off, along with the rest of her face.

'So, don't you want to see what he found?' I asked slowly, like she might now=t understand the words.

'Not really. I can tell you now that it won't be as interesting as _this_ soap opera.' she chuckled.

'You found something?' I demanded.

'Yep.' she giggled.

'Why didn't you tell us?' I exclaimed.

'Because you didn't ask.' she acted like she was offended. I let out a low growl and ripped the book out of her hands and began to read Jonathan Gilbert's journal.

_I could not believe that the monster had killed Honoria. I had only glimpsed its face, and it looked startlingly like Stefan Salvatore, Giuseppe's son who had been turned to a monster by the demon Katherine Pierce. It seemed we had yet more demons to destroy. If not Stefan Salvatore, then it must have been his brother, Damon. I had yet to find them. But when I did, I would drive a stake right through both their hearts. They used to be friends of the council, but friendship was not important to these monsters. _

_I began to research vampires. I found a lot. There was a breed of vampires that started these monsters in their paths to destruction. They were known as the Originals. They could not be stopped with the average wooden stake. What was required was a special dagger dipped in the ash of a white oak tree. Only one dagger existed in the world, and one vial of ash. Together, they create the correct poison needed to destroy an Original. As long as the dagger remains in the vampire's heart, he remains dead forever. But it was considered forbidden for a vampire to kill another of its kind, so a curse was placed on the dagger. Only a human could use it against an Original- any vampire who wielded it and used it would die. This dagger is almost impossible to find, but I must surely find a way. _

_Of course, any ordinary vampire can be killed with the traditional wooden stake to the heart, or decapitation. The body of an Original is fire-proof, and no one can get close enough to decapitate one. _

_The monsters are seen as ruthless. _

_Just like they all are. Ruthless monsters who must be stopped. _

I looked up in shock at Katherine, who was smirking.

'Explains a lot, doesn't it?'

'You knew all this and you didn't tell us!' I pointed an accusing finger at her.

'Like I said, Stefan.' she got up and ran a finger along my chest before she left. 'You didn't ask.'

**Author's Note: Okay, so this was the first chapter? Thoughts? Should I carry on, and for how long? Please rate and review! Of course, I don't own anything apart from the plot. **

**This is my first non-crossover fanfic, so please be nice, but give me some criticism as well, obviously. I know this chapter was short, but I'll try to make future chapters longer!**

**Thanks for reading, will update ASAP!**

**AlisaPhenom. XoXo**


	2. Dealing With It

**Chapter 2. **

**Tyler's POV.**

I sat on my couch with my head in my hands. My mother was attacked, by a vampire, no less. Of course, the old 'animal attack' cover story was out.

'Tyler, I am _so, so _sorry!' Caroline repeated, rubbing my back in circles.

'Caroline, stop apologising. It wasn't _your_ fault. It was _his_. I'll kill him!' I hissed, holding back tears.

'Tyler, you're upset and you're angry. That's what Klaus _wants_! That's the reason he attacked her, he wants there to be _nothing_ for you to fight for. Please, don't give up!' she pleaded.

'_Give up_? Care, he attacked her! He tried to kill her! That's not something I can just forgive and forget, he needs to pay!' I snarled, lifting my head and turning to face her.

'But you'll lose if you try to fight him! Please, don't be stupid!' she protested.

'Oh, I'm being stupid? Wouldn't you do the same if your mother was dying in the hospital?' I said flatly. She fell silent and looked down.

'No. I'd focus on helping _her_.' she whispered.

'I will help her. After that bastard has paid for what he did.' I got up and walked towards the door.

'_Tyler Lockwood, don't you dare_! He's an _Original_, do you even know what that _means_? It means he can kill you in his sleep, with both arms tied behind his back and one leg chopped off, with a sack over his head!' she hissed, speeding over to the door to stop me from leaving.

'Move, Care.' I sighed_. _God, she was annoying. Helpful and sweet, but annoying as hell!

'No.' she said stubbornly, crossing her arms.

'Caroline!' I warned. She sighed and moved aside.

'You'd better only be going to the hospital.' she sighed in defeat.

**Elena's POV. **

I looked down as I waited for my response.

'Well? Why? And don't say it's because you _enjoy_ it. I know that can't be true.' I stated.

'Elena... I kill people because... I kill people because I like it.' Damon said. I stared at him.

'No, you don't! You can't _like_ it.' I hissed.

'Well, that's the truth, Elena. Believe it or not.' he raised his hands in the air to stop me from saying any more. 'It's my turn, Elena. Truth? Or dare?'

I swallowed the lump in my throat. 'Truth.'

'Great. How many guys have you slept with?' he asked, much to my surprise. I gaped.

'You can't ask me that! That's person!' I yelled, outraged. How dare he ask that?  
><em>You just don't want to tell him the truth because he's not one of those people. <em>A voice in my head told me. I shook it away.

'If you don't want to answer, you can always do the penalty...' he winked. There was no way I was doing the penalty- he'd tell me to do something ridiculous. I folded my arms over my chest and scowled.

'Fine. I've slept with three people.' I murmured quietly.

'Three?' Damon asked, sounding surprised.

'Yep.' I nodded, counting them in my head.

'Name them.' he ordered, voice tight.

'Stefan, Matt, and Tyler.' I said honestly.

'_Tyler Lockwood_? The _werewolf_?' he raised his eyebrows.

'Well, we were both drunk one night, and- things happened...' I stammered, feeling self-conscious.

'I don't think I want to know. It's your turn.' God, he sounded miserable! I ignored it.

'Damon, this road trip will be no fun if we're just playing truth or dare the whole time. We'll end up doing things we regret.' I tried to back my way out of the game, nervous about what he might ask me to do as things heated up.

'Well, what else do you want to do?' he said seductively. I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help but smile. _Wait, Elena, stop smiling. He tried to kill your brother and that is _not_ okay. _My more rational voice said. I told it to go away and focused on trying to see Damon's better side. Which meant getting along with him.

'_Not_ whatever dirty thought you're thinking. Let's go inside the bar.' I suggested, picking up my shirt.

'Wait, you're not allowed to put your shirt on.' he stopped me.

'But we're not playing any more!' I protested. He shook his head, grinning.

'We can go inside. But your shirt stays in the car.' he smiled innocently. I stared at him in disbelief.

'Then we're not going inside.' I folded my arms and sat back in my seat.

'Oh, but no, if you want a drink, we simply _must_!' he teased, opening his door and getting out. He gestured for me to do the same while I looked at the bar in horror.

'Damon, _no!_' I argued.

'Elena, _yes_!' he mocked. He whizzed round to my door and opened it, pulling me outside.

'This would have been my next dare for you anyway.' he whispered in my ear as he dragged me along. I sighed and tried to cover as much of my bare stomach with my arms as possible.

_Good luck getting along with that for the rest of the day, _the voice in my head mocked.

**Damon's POV.**

I grinned as we walked inside the bar, Elena, shirtless, on my arm. We were gathering stares from both sexes. There were a few wolf-whistles in regards to Elena's lack of shirt. I glared at the whistlers, my eyes saying _Touch her and you'll regret it_.

'Damon, you're making me dislike you intensely.' she whispered to me as we sat at the bar. I smiled. She was so adorable when she was scowling.

'Don't pretend you don't love the attention.' I teased, only half-joking. The truth was, she looked like she _did_. This was the kind of bar you'd find in Texas, full of sluts and bikers. So a beautiful shirtless girl and a gorgeous guy were appreciated a lot.

'I don't. I feel so self-conscious!' she said loudly.

'What can I get you, sweet-cheeks?' the waitress said to me.

'I'll have a bourbon.' I smiled seductively and looked into her eyes. 'On the house.'

'Coming right up. And you?' she added to Elena.

'Uh, a diet coke, please.' she said quietly. I rolled my eyes as the waitress walked away.

'Why don't you get something a little heavier?' I questioned, watching her.

'I just want to get out of here.' she whispered. Oh, god, she really did. I began to feel a hint of regret for dragging her here against her will, without a shirt. But I was thirsty, and the waitress looked so delicious...

'Just drink and relax. We'll be gone in the next fifteen minutes.' I promised, grabbing my drink from the tray as she grabbed hers. Our hands briefly brushed against each other, and I felt a startling jolt of electricity. I yanked my hand back. She did the same.

I sighed and drained my drink. For a minute I'd nearly lost all control and done something... more. My self-control was slowly seeping away.

This was going to be an interesting day.

**Katherine's POV. **

I smiled a secret smile as I walked away from Stefan, making sure to sway my hips as I walked. I was glad Elena and Damon had gone away on this little road trip- it gave me some quality time to spend with Stefan.

I was confident I'd be able to seduce Stefan. There was only so much Petrova a guy could take, and a full day was more than enough. Plenty of time.

'Hello, Sabrina. Sabrina's boyfriend.' I greeted the witch and her little sweetheart. I was greeted in turn with a pair of angry glares.

'Stop calling me Sabrina.' the witch growled. I laughed and walked closer to them.

'So, what did you find?' I asked, already bored.

'Some interesting stuff about a certain Katerina Petrova.' the witch smiled smugly. I looked at each of them.

'What does it say?' I struggled to keep my tone light. I didn't want to face my history today.

'Like I said, it's very interesting. You have quite a history.' Sabrina the teenage witch pulled out a few books and papers.

'Give me those.' I snapped, snatching them from her hands.

'Why didn't you tell us about all this?' the boy asked, clearly angry. I shrugged- the move was so blasé. I decided to use the ever so popular line again.

'Because you didn't ask.'

'Is that all you can say, Katherine?' Stefan asked from behind me. I turned to face him.

'So kind of you to join us. Why don't you read up on my history? I'm sure you'd be _very_ interested in what the opinions of me through the years have been.' I handed him a book. I recognised it as my journal, from 1492. I felt my heart warm at the thought that it had managed to survive through the years, keeping all my secrets from my Bulgarian life. 'Careful, though. Most of it is in Bulgarian. You might need a translator.'

'You translate it. Read it aloud so we can hear.' he said wearily, brushing past me to scan the piles of books for anything interesting.

_My god, did Stefan Salvatore just brush past me like he didn't even _care_? _I thought to myself. I wasn't having any of that. I opened my old journal and began to read aloud, my brain automatically translating the words to the more comfortable language that everyone could speak.

**A/N: So, that's the second chapter done! Thank you for your kind review, yes, _review_. As in _one. _Come on, people, we need more! So please rate and review if you like it, please rate and review if you don't like it! :) **

**Disclaimer: As much as I wish I do, I do not own the Vampire Diaries or any of the characters, just the plot of this story. **

**Will update ASAP, maybe even later today!**

**AlisaPhenom. XoXo**


	3. Secret Thoughts

**Chapter 3. **

**Caroline's POV. **

I watched through the window as Tyler left, and I felt a little sad. Poor guy. But he was being _so_ unreasonable! I wasn't sure whether I should follow him or not. I decided not to, for now. That is, until I saw his car driving in the opposite way to the hospital. The idiot! I cursed under my breath and sped out to follow him. I ran at a reasonable pace behind his car- he would never know I was there. I heard him talking on his cell.  
>'Yeah, Caroline thinks I'm going to the hospital. No, she definitely thinks so.' he paused to chuckle. 'Unless she's stalking me.' I rolled my eyes. He was such a cocky brat. He paused again before sighing and saying, 'Yeah, whatever. You're sure he's there? Okay, good. I'm going to kill him when I find him. Don't be late.' he said. I wanted to pull him out of the car and drag him back to his house and just hold him, chiding him for being so stupid. But I couldn't do that. I had to find out where he was going and who he was meeting before doing that. At the end of the day, curiosity always got the better of me.<br>But then again- curiosity _did_ kill the cat.  
><em>Must have been a stupid cat.<em> I thought to myself.

**Elena's POV. **

Damon had let me wait in the car for him to finish his 'snack'- the pretty waitress who had served them. I shivered- it had gotten really cold. I decided to pass the time by writing in my journal.

_**Dear Diary,  
>I'm on the stupid road trip with Damon. Shirtless, because of some stupid game of Truth Or Dare. Then he even had the nerve to make me go into a bar with him, still shirtless and freezing, just so he could have a little snack! Then again, Truth Or Dare had been admittedly kind of fun. It was funny just seeing the look on his face when I actually took my shirt off like he's told me to.<br>Today, I don't want to be loner Elena any more. I'm tired of that now, and I'm sure everyone else is. I want to be the fun-loving Elena I was before my parents died. My real parents, not John and Isobel. They would never be my real parents, even if they tried to be.  
>So right now, Damon's feeding off of some stranger while I'm writing to you. I don't want to admit it, especially not to Damon, but I think today might actually be pretty fun. Even if it is with Damon, all day long. But, I hate to say, it might be fun <strong>_**BECAUSE it's with Damon. Weird, huh? I feel kind of happy with him. I don't know why. He did try to kill my brother. But I want to just get past that. **_**  
>Today will be the day I forgive him and re-kindle our friendship. Who knows, I might even find some of his hidden feelings along the way.<br>Love, Elena. Xx **_

I stopped writing when I heard the car door open. I looked up and Damon was sat by me.

'Whatcha writing?' he asked, peering over my shoulder to try and ready my diary. I snapped the book shut.

'Nothing.' I said defensively, putting my beloved journal away. I looked at him and he rolled his eyes.

'Ready to go?' he asked, like he even cared if I was or not. I nodded and took one last look at Chirpy Joe's bar, a place I knew I was never setting foot in again.  
>'Ready to go,' I confirmed. And this time, I really, really was.<p>

**Bonnie's POV. **

Today was going to be so boring, I could tell. Although, having Jeremy here made it kind of okay.

'Slow down.' he said to Katherine, who was translating her journal like her life, or non-life, depended on it. I rolled my eyes.

'Why should I? Sabrina here isn't even interested, Stefan wants to be with his precious Elena, and you're just a human who has nothing to do with the information of my life and the feelings I used to have about it. Why am I even reading at all?' she snarled, finally snapping the book shut.

'Why don't you just give us the books. I'm sure Google Translate will be more interesting than your voice droning on.' I snapped. She smirked, and then I realised- she and Elena had the same voice, even if Katherine used hers to be a bitch. I blushed and looked down. 'And don't think I'm trying to offend Elena, either- her voice is way more pleasant than yours.' I added.

'Ooh, ouch. Bitchy witchy.' she mocked. I rolled my eyes.

'Just shut up!' Jeremy shouted, much to my surprise. He was actually kind of adorable, and _really_ hot.

'Katherine, stop causing arguments. Why don't you just leave?' Stefan said coldly, glaring at her.

'I'm not leaving just yet, Sweet Stefan. You need me. And don't lie to yourself- you _want_ me here.' her voice dropped to a seductive tone. Sweet Stefan- what, was that some kind of 'cute' nickname she'd made for him? Stefan blushed- yes, _blushed_- and looked down, like I had. Jeremy decided to come to the rescue.

'Katherine, in case you haven't noticed with your head so far up your own ass, _no-one _wants you here.' he pointed out icily. She glared at him and threw a book at his head, which he dodged neatly. He was like a knight in shining armour... I didn't realise I'd sighed dreamily until everyone turned to look at me. Katherine smirking, Stefan looking confused yet amused, Jeremy looking triumphant.

Today was going to be an interesting day, to say the least.


	4. Trials and Tribulations

**Chapter 4. **

**Katherine's POV. **

I ignored the foolish humans (and witches) and decided not to grant them the blessing of me doing what they say. So I _didn't _leave.  
>I glanced at Stefan- yep, he really <em>was<em> the same Stefan I fell in love with. Which meant he was _definitely_ going to be able to fall in love with me again, too. How could he not? No man has ever been able to resist what I have to offer. Okay, I may not be the friendliest person in the world... or the most truthful... in fact, I admit, I am a huge bitch. But still, I'm beautiful and cunning and sexy. Stefan loved me once. He can love me again. I'm sure of it.

He was suddenly flipping open his phone and dialling a number.

'Who are you calling?' I questioned, narrowing my eyes.

'Elena.' he replied. I rolled my eyes. God, couldn't they stay away from each other for just one day?

'Why? Worried that she might fall in love with Damon?' I teased, only half-jokingly. He glared at me.

'I'm not worried at all. I'm just checking to make sure she's okay.' he said defensively, pressing the phone to his ear.

'Yeah, right.' I scoffed, opening a new book to divert my attention from the surely upcoming lovers reunion.

'Elena. Hey.' Stefan said, relief evident in his voice. I hear the reply. I decided to eavesdrop on the conversation with my excellent hearing.

'Stefan, hi. Are you okay?' she asked, and she sounded kind of far away. What was she doing with Damon? I couldn't help it- I was the slightest, smallest bit jealous that she had both brother's undying affection.

'Yes, I'm fine. How are things with Damon?' I could hear his voice tighten at the name of his dear brother.

'Good.' she said. I, and probably Stefan too, could hear Damon shouting in the background.

'Hey Stef! Yeah, everything's _fine_! We played truth or dare and Elena's sat here with no shirt on!' he shouted. I smirked. Stefan looked appalled.

'_Damon, shut up!_' Elena shouted, loud enough that even Sabrina and Jeremy could hear. The witch raised an eyebrow and the human boy chuckled.

'Elena, please tell me you're wearing a shirt.' Stefan said flatly, apparently much to our company's surprise. I could practically _hear _the witch's dirty thoughts about what Damon and my doppleganger are doing. Elena sighed.

'We played truth or dare, and I didn't want to have to face a penalty.' she admitted. I burst out laughing.

'Damon dared her to take her shirt off, and she did it because she didn't want to have to face a _penalty_?' I exclaimed between fits of laughter. Stefan glared again.

'Is that Katherine?' Elena asked, sounding pretty pissed off.

'Yes. Don't worry, we're making sure she behaves.' I rolled my eyes at that and smirked down at my boring old book. 'The research is going okay, but we're not finding much useful information Apart from some stuff Johnathan Gilbert wrote about Originals, and some crap in Katherine's old diary.' he added.

'So, my thoughts and feelings are crap? Gosh, I'm hurt!' I put a mocking hand over my heart.

'Well, that's all right, I guess. Look, I have to go now, I'll call you back later, okay? Bye!' she said in a rush before hanging up. Stefan sighed and snapped his phone shut.

'Why must you make everything so difficult?' he asked no one in particular, and no one really answered. I wasn't sure whether he meant it to me, or about Damon, or maybe something else. He just looked up to the heavens, kind of sadly.

**Damon's POV. **

I had no idea what Elena had been writing in her journal, but for some reason, it had me paranoid. Which wasn't normal. I was _Damon_, for god's sakes! I didn't worry about what people were writing about me in their _diaries_! But I'm sure I caught a glimpse of the words 'actually' and 'fun'... which was a pretty good sign, right? Then she got the call from Stefan. I couldn't resist telling him about our fun and games- although it had gotten Elena pretty mad. Stefan too, apparently. It was pretty funny, though.

'You know, you were a lot more fun when you were speaking to me.' I commented, glancing at her. She was staring at the road ahead, looking stony and grim.

'I have nothing to say to you. You upset Stefan, Damon. Why did you even do that?' she asked.

I raised an eyebrow. 'Are we still playing truth or dare?' I questioned bitterly. She sighed.

'Would you rather just go back?' she asked.

'What, back to my brooding baby brother and that psychotic bitch who's raiding my home? No, thank you. You're probably the only company I'd like to keep.' I said honestly.

'Really?' she asked, finally turning to look at me.

'Yes. What were you writing in your journal?' I asked finally.

'Nothing.' she mumbled, blushing. I sighed and rolled my eyes. I saw a gas station come up ahead of us and pulled into it. I gave her a handful of notes.

'Go buy some food while I get some gas.' I instructed, gesturing to the store.

'Right. Will do.' she muttered, walking away. I seized my opportunity. It was a shame she didn't check the gas metre- she would have realised it was still full. I found her diary quickly and opened it, scanning through the pages until I found her last entry. I scanned through it and smiled at her thoughts.

_**Dear Diary,  
><strong>__**I'm on the stupid road trip with Damon. Shirtless, because of some stupid game of Truth Or Dare. Then he even had the nerve to make me go into a bar with him, still shirtless and freezing, just so he could have a little snack! Then again, Truth Or Dare had been admittedly kind of fun. It was funny just seeing the look on his face when I actually took my shirt off like he's told me to.  
>Today, I don't want to be loner Elena any more. I'm tired of that now, and I'm sure everyone else is. I want to be the fun-loving Elena I was before my parents died. My real parents, not John and Isobel. They would never be my real parents, even if they tried to be.<br>So right now, Damon's feeding off of some stranger while I'm writing to you. I don't want to admit it, especially not to Damon, but I think today might actually be pretty fun. Even if it is with Damon, all day long. But, I hate to say, it might be fun **__**BECAUSE it's with Damon. Weird, huh? I feel kind of happy with him. I don't know why. He did try to kill my brother. But I want to just get past that.**__**  
>Today will be the day I forgive him and re-kindle our friendship. Who knows, I might even find some of his hidden feelings along the way.<br>Love, Elena. Xx**_

That was pretty cute. Those were really her thoughts? Did she really want to forgive me? Try and 're-kindle our friendship'? I snapped the book shut and put it back where I found it, smiling. I sat back in my seat and waited for her to finish food shopping. We needed food anyway.

The voice in my head gave me inscructions.

_Okay, Damon, this is your chance to win her over. Don't screw it up. Be the better man. _

**A/N: Okay, for start, I forgot to put an A/N in my last entry, didn't I? Sorry. You missed my hilarious thoughts on what I'd written, poor you! ;)  
>So, what do you think? I'm going to put more Delena moments in the next chapter, so be warned, there will be some chemistry and mushy feelings exposed!<br>I know there was no Caroline/Tyler in this chapter, but I got writers block just for that little story, and I thought it'd be more tense to wait until the next chapter for that anyway.  
>*Ducks from yet more flying objects* Stop throwing things at me!<br>Plus, Katherine's going to make her move on Stefan in the next few chapters, and Bonnie/Jeremy will be mking another appearance soon enough, you might have to wait, though. Okay, so you know what to do- please rate and review! Rhymes, see?  
>I don't own anything, yada yada yada...<br>Thanks for reading, and I'll update ASAP!  
>AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	5. Make Your Move

**Chapter 5. **

**Elena's POV. **

'That'll be twenty-four dollars and ninety six cents.' the lady behind the counter said, handing me a few plastic bags filled with food. Thank god Damon had let me put my shirt back on. Walking through this cute little store shirtless would just make me die!  
>I looked through the notes to find anything less than a fifty, but it seems Damon doesn't <em>own<em> anything less than a fifty. I sighed and handed her a fifty dollar note.

'Sorry, I left my change in the car.' I muttered. I got my change, after a few minutes, and returned to the car to find Damon lounging against the side of the car.

'Get food?' he raised an eyebrow at the shopping bags.

'Get gas?' I smirked. 'You must have given me your gas money by mistake, I couldn't find anything less than a fifty dollar note.'

'No, that was the right stack of money that I invaded. What's wrong with giving you plenty of money to buy whatever you want with?' he asked when he saw my own raised eyebrow.

'I wasn't exactly going to rent out the store, Damon. I only wanted a few essentials.' she murmured, opening her car door. Damon whizzed round and stopped her.

'I was thinking we could take a walk.' he explained.

'A walk? Seriously? Damon, it'll start raining any minute.' I argued, but he pulled me along to the nearby field with him.

'A walk will do you good. Exercise Not that you need it.' he added, noticing her expression. She sighed in defeat.

'All right, fine. Can I have my arm back now?'

**Tyler's POV. **

I walked slowly into the clearing by the river.

'Jules? You there?' I called out hesitantly.

'I'm here. Sorry, I thought you were someone else.' Jules said, stepping out from behind a thick tree.

I smiled. 'It's good to see you.'

She grinned at me and walked closer. 'You too. How have things been? Have the turnings gotten any easier?' she sounded like she was really concerned. I nodded slowly.

'A little. Caroline's been helping.' I admitted, knowing Jules didn't much like Caroline. Or any vampire, for that matter. Not since the vampires killed all of her friends, including her lover, Brady.

'You still trust her?' she asked, nose wrinkled in disgust.

'She's my friend. Anyway, you said you know where Klaus is.' I changed the subject to what I really wanted to talk about.

'I do. Are you sure you want to go against him?' she asked.

I nodded again, fiercely this time. 'I'm sure. I'm ready to destroy him.' I promised.

**Damon's POV.**

I was nervous. I, Damon Salvatore, was nervous. In case I maybe messed it up with Elena and made her hate me again. In case she saw that I wasn't worth trusting or forgiving. In case she mentioned Stefan, to remind me that it was always going to be Stefan and I didn't even deserve a chance.  
><em>Get a grip, Damon. She wants to forgive you, and she will. Show her she should. <em>

Then I made what could either be the greatest move of my life or the biggest mistake in history- I threw an arm around Elena. I felt her freeze and I thought, _Damn, that was a mistake_.

But much to my surprise, and probably her own, she let it rest over her shoulders.

'It's starting to rain.' Elena noted, glancing up at the sky.

'I like the rain. Don't you?' I said, looking at her face tilted upwards, thinking how nice it's be to kiss those slightly parted lips...  
>No! Get a hold of yourself, Damon!<p>

But in the end, desire won like it always did. Before she had a chance to answer, Damon leant closer and touched his lips to hers.

**Stefan's POV. **

I watched as Katherine strutted out of the room.  
><em>Finally, she's leaving, <em>I thought. But just as my hopes had rocketed to the sky, she turned back to me and said, 'Stefan, I need to speak to you...' her voice dropped to a seductive whisper. 'Alone.'

I sighed and got off the couch.

'Call me back if you find anything.' I said to Bonnie and Jeremy. It was more of a plea. A desperate, desperate plea. They nodded and turned back to their books.

_Great. Here comes the fun,_ I thought, following Katherine out into the living room, away from the library with Bonnie and Jeremy there to make sure I didn't give in to temptation.

**Jeremy's POV. **

As soon as Katherine and Stefan left, I flicked my book across the room, and it landed neatly on the couch.

'Jeremy, why did you just throw one of Johnathan Gilbert's journals across the room?' Bonnie asked warily.

'Because this is boring.' I whispered. She sighed. She was so beautiful.

'Yeah, it is.' Bonnie grinned, but she didn't throw her book across the room. She folded the page over neatly so she could easily find the page again, and closed the book and placed it next to her. I rolled my eyes.

'Live a little, Bonnie!' I said, and flicked her book onto the couch like I did to mine before she could stop me.

'That's not living, that's damaging important information.' she muttered, but she was laughing. I grinned.

I grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet, turning the radio on the table on.

'What are you doing?' she giggled.

'Dance with me.' I smiled. I didn't know what I was doing- I hated dancing. I was crap at it. I had two left feet. Which would actually be a compliment to my dancing. But I liked Bonnie, and she made me do crazy things.

So we waltzed around the room to the songs on the radio, laughing all the way.

**A/N: ARGH! Apologies for mess-ups in the last few chapters, where I've slipped into third-person mode in someone's POV! Hopefully you realise that it's not intentional, it sometimes just slips.  
>I added plenty of corny stuff to this chapter! What do you think, should I tone down the corniness?<br>So, anyway, thank you so much for all your kind reviews! And I have an idea- send me your ideas of what you'd like to happen, and I'll use one! x)  
>I'll update ASAP, like I usually try to do. I never thought this story would be likes as much as it is, so I really so appreciate all your kind reviews! So please keep your R+R's coming!<br>Again, I don't own anything.  
>AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	6. I Felt It

**Chapter 6. **

**Caroline's POV. **

'She thinks I'm at the hospital.' I heard Tyler promise that bitch-wolf Jules. I hissed under my breath. How dare he lie to my face then have the nerve to go behind my back and act like I'm stupid and easily fooled? Jules gave the lecture of how vampires aren't to be trusted, and all that blah... really, that's old news. Then I got the confirmation- Tyler was planning on killing Klaus with Jules, like it would really be that easy. I came stumbling out of the bushes I was hiding in.

'Tyler, you can't do this! You can't!' I yelled at him. He turned to look at me in shock. Jules growled.

'I told you vampires can't be trusted. Look, I bet she followed you here.' she sneered. I rolled my eyes.

'If you care about him so much, why are you putting his life at risk by letting him believe he really has a chance against Klaus? Even on a full moon, Tyler, you have no power over him.'

'So you're saying I'm weak?' Tyler growled. I shook my head, annoyed.

'That's not what I'm saying and you know it!'

'I think it is! Well, I'm not weak little Tyler Lockwood any more. I'm a lycan, a werewolf, and I'm going to prove that I can do this. You have to let me.'

'No!' I shot back.

'Blondie, leave it alone. I won't let anything happen.' Jules cautioned. Did she seriously just call me Blondie? Had she looked in a mirror recently?

'You may try, but how could you stop Klaus from, I don't know, killing everyone in town because some ignorant little werewolves tried to go up against him and got themselves killed?' I snarled.

Tyler hesitated. Evidently, he hadn't thought of that. Jules was poisoning his mind, making him think he was stronger than he really was.

And I wasn't going to let that happen.

**Elena's POV. **

Damon was kissing me. _Damon_ was _kissing_ me. Damon was kissing _me_. I tried to pull away but his hands were holding me in place, and I just couldn't. Soon enough I found myself kissing him back. Then I remembered Stefan- Stefan, who was so sweet. Stefan, who understood me. Stefan... who had not once kissed me with as much flaming passion and desire as this. I felt all tingly, the way people said they felt in all those romance books- like I was being electrocuted all over my body. It felt so pleasant.

But I couldn't let this happen. I had to be faithful to Stefan.

'Damon, please, we need to stop.' I whispered against his lips.

'Why?' he murmured back. I tried to pull away again and he let me this time.

'Damon, that shouldn't have happened.' I breathed, panting. I was all breathless- _so_ not a good sign.

'I'm sorry, Elena.' he said. I looked at him. Did Damon just apologise? Was there a catch? Of course there was. He continued, 'but that _was_ meant to happen. Didn't you _feel_ anything right then? Because I did.'

'Damon... please.' I whispered. He nodded.

'Just forget it happened. Fine. But I won't be able to, and you know that.' he said darkly.  
>I knew I wouldn't be able to either.<p>

**A/N: Sorry, this chapter is really short, but writers block is happening. I might not update for a while, *Gasp*!  
>Thanks for reading as usual, my faithful readers. ;)<br>I will _try_ and update ASAP, but no promises that this will be in the next two days. But you know I will try.  
>Again, suggestions, rates and reviews are needed from you lovely people! And apologies, last chapter I uploaded the wrong file, but I deleted it as soon as I realised and replaced it with the right one, so I'm very sorry if some of you are confused! That chapter was for another story. Sorry again!<strong>

**AlisaPhenom. XoXo**


	7. Feel The Tension

**Chapter 7. **

**Katherine's POV. **

This was my chance.

'What do you want, Katherine?' Stefan asked tiredly. I resisted the urge to reach out and stroke his face in the way that would have won him over in 1864. But it's not 1864 any more, and my pathetic human doppleganger has gotten in the way of all romance with my dear Stefan. No, I couldn't show him that I still cared. But I could show him that I was still interested. I smirked.

'You, Stefan. I want _you_.' I murmured. He sighed. He _sighed_!

'Here's the problem- I don't want _you_.' he spat. I have to say, I was shocked. I was _hurt_.

'Yes, you do. You see, I never compelled your love. Yes, I compelled you- so that you weren't scared of me. But you've always loved me. You can't just stop loving me that easy.' I moved closer to him. The damned guy stepped back!

'I hate you, Katherine. When will you understand that?' I touched his face, ignoring the warning bells in my head screaming _You're going to get hurt if he rejects you!_ But he didn't. This time, he didn't. He just closed his eyes and let me stroke his face. Oh, how I missed being able to do this with him.

'How is it, after everything that happened, that I can still love you?' he whispered. I moved my face closer to his. Finally, this was it. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in my back- _vervain_! He stabbed me with a vervain needle! What the hell? I gasped and fell to the floor.

'You... manipulated me?' I coughed out.

'Yes, Katherine.' he said, before picking me up and carrying me inside, probably to rot. Like I was meant to in 1864.

**Damon's POV. **

By now it was raining, quite heavy. I mentally cursed myself for the idea of a walk. What was I thinking?

'Damon. Can we go back?' Elena asked, making a feeble attempt to cover her hair from the rain. I smirked.

'Don't you like the rain?' I teased, but I grabbed her arm and spun her round back in the direction of the car which was still parked by the gas pump.

'No. It's so...' she hesitated, searching for the right word, '_wet._' I burst out laughing.

'Good logic.' I mocked. She rolled her eyes.

'Damon, do you think Stefan's mad?' she asked suddenly. I looked at her. She looked lonely. I wanted, so bad, to pull her into an embrace and just hold her forever. But I couldn't do that. No, I had to respect her decisions, which includes being _happy_ for her relationship with Saint Stefan.

'Maybe. But if he, he won't stay mad for long. No one can stay mad at you for long.' I added appraisingly, making her mock-punch me in the arm.

'Ow. That _hurt_.' I joked, folding an arm over my other arm where she punched it. She giggled, and the sound was so nice and pure and _good_ that I couldn't help grinning like an idiot. We were having fun. Finally, we were just having fun.

I wouldn't have missed today for the world- I knew that, Elena knew that, and Stefan knew that.

He was going to regret letting me and Elena loose alone, I could feel it.

**Bonnie's POV. **

I stared in disbelief as Stefan carried a nearly unconscious Katherine inside and dumped her on the couch.

'What the hell happened?' I demanded, breaking away from my dance with Jeremy.

'We're going to get the truth from her.' Stefan mumbled.

'Uh, correction. _You _are. We're not. We have research to do.' I said quickly. I didn't want to be in a room with an undoubtedly mad Katherine, even if she was drugged with vervain and Stefan and Jeremy were with us. I gripped Jeremy's hand and dragged him to the library.

'Bonnie-' Stefan called, but he was cut off by something. I mumbled a sorry and continued dragging Jeremy away.

'Why did you do that?' he asked simply. Not demanding, not angry. He just asked like he was concerned about me. So sweet.

'I don't like Katherine, and I don't trust her. How do we know she won't spring up and attack? I wouldn't want to expose myself or you to that.'

'What about Stefan?'

'He's a vampire. He can take care of himself. And if what Katherine says is true, she came back for him- which mean she _loves_ him. She wouldn't hurt him.' I muttered, the words sounding so shocking to me. Katherine, care? Pfft. Yeah, like that would happen. But it was the best excuse I had. I had been so close to kissing Jeremy before Stefan came dragging her in. And the weirdest part was that I wasn't even worried about him being Elena's little brother, or him having been in love with two other girls before me who both died, I didn't even care if Elena got weirded out by... us. Us. It felt right to use that plural for us.

'Whatever. Now... where were we?' Jeremy murmured, pulling me close and pressing his lips to mine.

**A/N: Okay, before anyone throws a hissy fit over Katherine succumbing to vervain after 'building a resistance', let's just pretend she didn't build up a resistance and is just as weak to vervain as Stefan or Damon. ;)  
>Okay, so what do you guys think? I hope you liked it, I had to drag my butt out of bed and literally punch writer's block out of my head for this chapter.<br>…. I'm kidding. I like writing this story.  
>AHH, two kisses in two chapters, OMG! That means the inevitable Steferine kiss will have to wait, ha! Sorry. But the tension shall be draaaagged.<br>Thank you so much for all your awesome reviews, love chu all.  
>And you know the drill! I've ranted about it in every author's note in the past six chapters and I shall not repeat the tedious routine.<br>Updates soon!  
>AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	8. Here For You

**Chapter 8. **

**Elena's POV. **

'It looks like a cloud, Damon- _they all do_. None of them look like fangs, and that one certainly doesn't look like me. But thanks anyway for the extremely flattering comparison.' I said sarcastically as Damon pointed out yet another cloud that he wrongly thought looked like me while we drove through the beautiful and peaceful countryside.

He stuck his tongue out at me and smirked, and I couldn't help but give a small smile in response- a small smile which I immediately got rid of.

We were both clearly trying out best to forget the kiss we shared earlier, but I was failing miserably. I couldn't forget the deliciously wonderful feeling that had spread through me when his lips met mine, I couldn't forget how nice it felt to feel his strong, warm arms around me, and I certainly couldn't forget how _I kissed him back_.

'How would you know? You don't have super-heightened vision like I do.' he argued.

I rolled my eyes. 'You're so childish. Grow up.'

He smirked crookedly, meeting my eyes with a mischievous look in his beautiful blue orbs. 'And you're so boring. Grow down.'

'Aren't you supposed to be the adult here?' I asked him, raising a challenging eyebrow .

He shrugged, still smirking. He didn't say anything, just carried on looking at me. I shifted in my seat, kind of uncomfortable under his penetrating stare.

'You know, you look so much better with a smile on your face.' he commented. Before I could protest, he had two fingers on the corners of my mouth and had lifted them upwards, and I couldn't help but laugh. He smiled triumphantly. 'See?'

I rolled my eyes, my laughter dying out buy my grin remaining fixed in place.

'So.' he said casually, smiling a genuine smile that I loved to see. 'Where to next, I wonder?'

I sighed. 'I have a feeling I won't be the one who gets to decide.'

'How right you are!' he chuckled. 'Remember our wonderful and completely non-disastrous trip to Bree's bar in Georgia a couple of months ago?'

I felt horror well up in me at the memory. 'Well, I do, but-'

'Great.' he grinned. 'Now I know how much our first bonding session means to you, for you to remember it. So, where should we go?'

I scowled at him. 'You're such a dick.'

He raised his eyebrows and smirked at me. 'Wow, the sweet little Elena Gilbert, cussing. I have to admit, I'm surprised.'

I stared at him. 'Just shut up and keep driving.'

'How can I keep driving if I don't know where we're going?' he teased, and I rolled my eyes.

'I have no idea where we should go, we just- _Damon_!' I screeched. He, being the unfathomably idiotic vampire that he is, had suddenly braked the car so we had stopped in an empty road by a field.

'Yes?' he asked with a raised eyebrow and the hint of a vicious smirk.

'_Why the hell did you just keep that_?' I shrieked, hitting him on the arm. '_Drive_!'

Okay, I have to admit, I panicked when he stopped. I have no idea why, but I didn't like it when a car braked suddenly- well, maybe I had an idea why. I think it was because of- of the accident with my parents.

He frowned at me when I stayed silent for more than a few seconds, staring at the non-moving road ahead. 'Uh, you okay, Elena?'

'Just keep driving.' I said in a strangely emotionless voice.

**Stefan's POV. **

'Bonnie-' I started, but was cut off by a hand gripping my wrist and sharp nails digging into the flesh.

Katherine was awake.

I raised an eyebrow at her. 'Well, that was quick.'

She smiled weakly. '500 years of life... strengthens you somewhat...' she croaked. Clearly, the vervain had taken the effect I wanted it to. I had been a little worried that because of her age, the vervain wouldn't work as well as it would on, say, me.

Making a quick-fire decision, I pulled out the rope me and Damon had decided to keep in an emergancy stash under the sofa- god knows why- and tied it around her torso, keeping her arms enclosed firmly in the vervain-soaked ropes.

'Why the hell did you do that?' she rasped, her voice taking on an angry edge. I could see that, despite the vervain, her strength was returning by the minute.

I pulled out my little tool-kit from the coffee table beside the sofa and quickly put on protective gloves before holding a small sprig of vervain in my hand, twirling it in my fingers. I was, once again, momentarily amazed at the fact that such a small herb could have such drastic effects against a vampire. I looked at Katherine and held the sprig close to her face, feeling a strange satisfaction when she instictively tried to sink back into the couch.

Or, at least, she couldn't move until her vampiric strength returned and she threw me off, probably plunging a wooden stake through my heart somewhere in the process.

'What are you... doing to me?' she asked weakly.

'Start talking, Katherine.' I ordered.

She frowned. 'No.'

Slowly, oh so slowly, I dragged the small herb across her cheek, watching carefully as she winced and the flesh under the vervain sizzled.

'Do you want to reconsider that answer?' I asked her.

She glared up at me. 'You.. were so... _sweet_...'

'I'm a vampire, Katherine. We both know that _neither of us_ can be as sweet as we'd like to be.'

She grinned lightly. 'Good. Sweet is... boring.'

'Talk.'

'About _what_?'

'_Why you're here_.'

I was rapidly losing patience, yet I was reluctant to hurt her again. I wasn't sure why... I just didn't want to the beautiful yet evil creature lay weakened before me. But after a few seconds, I scowled, shook the thoughts away and inwardy cursed myself for thinking such soft thoughts about the monster who ruined both mine and Damon's lives forever.

She looked up at me and I was shocked to see that there was a small amount of real, genuine hurt in her eyes. 'I already told you... I'm here for you.'

I shook my head, refusing to believe it. 'I want the truth.'

'So let me give it to you.'

'Please do.'

'_I'm here for you..._ why can't you believe that?'

I wanted to- I'll be the first to admit that. I sincerely wanted to believe that Katherine was here for me, that she wanted a second chance and truly loved me like she said she did...

But another part of me just couldn't believe that. The part of me that was so deeply in love with Elena and never wanted to let her go refused to believe that Katherine had suddenly changed sides.

_But she didn't say that she'd changed sides, _my inner voice mused, _all she said was that she loved me. _

I scowled again and told it to shut up.

**A/N: YAY, I'M BACK!  
>Okay, so the reason I hadn't updated, being honest, is because I forgot all about the story. Seriously. How AWFUL am I? Yes, you have a right to mob me. :(<br>But I was checking through my emails and saw that I had another review and was like, 'O.O' ****and started writing immediately. So, from now on, all of my old stories are being updated! Yay!  
>So, on another note, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Glad there's been people enjoying the story, and I hope you'll enjoy all the future chapters and all. :)<br>Thank you for all the reviews I've received! Don't know if I've mentioned this, but I AM SO GRATEFUL. Really, they're great- so thank you all, even if you haven't reviewed, thanks for reading!  
>I'll shut up now. ;)<br>AlisaPhenom. XoXo**


	9. Playing Games

**Chapter 9. **

**Jeremy's POV. **

'How do you think he's doing in there?' I asked, probably for the dozenth time.

'He'll be _fine_, Jeremy.' Bonnie assured me, a hint of both impatience and amusement in her voice.

I shook my head, smiling gently at my girlfriend. 'Sorry.' I said sheepishly. 'I just... I don't trust Katherine, at all. And it bothers me, how much she looks like my sister.' I shuddered.

She reached over her now-abandoned book to but a comforting hand on my arm, offering a small smile. 'I know. It bothers all of us. But, you know, there are the subtle differences that I don't think I'm the only one to have picked up on.'

'Like what?' I asked, intrigued.

'Like... the way she doesn't wear her hair straight unless she's trying to impersonate Elena. She always wears it in curls. She wears really slutty clothes.' I laughed, and she continued, 'And her eyes. Elena's eyes are warm and friendly and you can just see how passionate she is by looking at them. Katherine's eyes... her eyes are cold and, you know, emotionless. Katherine smells like lemon and ginger, and Elena smells like peaches and cinnamon. Elena wears her vervain necklace, Katherine doesn't.' she shrugged.

'Now that you mention it, there are a lot of things different about them.'

In truth, I'd noticed some of those things, too. I think we all had, and that's why it was getting easier to tell my sister and the homicidal bitch in the other room apart.

'So, we seriously need to find stuff now. Okay?' Bonnie looked at me with a small smile and hopeful eyes.

I rolled my eyes and nodded with a goofy grin, saying, 'Nothing is work when I'm with you.'

She groaned. 'Why are you so painfully cheesy?'

I winked. 'Don't lie to me- you love it.' I teased, kissing her on the lips.

**Elena's POV. **

'Damon...' I trailed off, shaking my head.

He raised an eyebrow. 'Yes?'

'Never mind.'

Okay, so yes, I'd been about to ask him about the kiss. So sue me. I wanted to know... I wanted to know if he'd felt the same way as I had when his lips touched mine. But he was Damon- it would be dangerous to harbour any kind of feelings towards him, I knew that. He would play with my heart... wouldn't he?

Something in my mind was nagging me, telling me that I shouldn't believe that- that it wasn't true. And that part of my mind, as I'd learned in the past, was a part of the mind I could trust.

Damon looked at me incredulously, as if questioning my sanity. I knew he was still a little freaked about my reaction to the minor incident earlier when he jokingly stopped the car and I nearly had a panic attack. I'd overreacted, sure, but hey- could a person blame me? After the accident when my parents... when my parents died- it was still hard to say it- I was secretly terrified of the possibility of crashing a car.

Especially when said car had me inside it.

'You feeling okay?' he asked me.

I nodded. 'Peachy.'

He smirked. 'You didn't answer me before, you know, when I asked where you wanted to go.'

'Sorry, I was too busy trying to get you to drive the god-damned car.' I sneered, playing with one of the loose buttons on my shirt and biting my lip.

He chuckled. 'You really do amuse me sometimes.'

'That just warms my heart, Damon. It's nice to know I provide such thrilling entertainment for you.' I mocked.

He sighed. 'Why are you being so sarcastic? That's my job.' he complained.

I raised an eyebrow. 'But you never get paid.'

He stared at me. 'Elena, that was an absolutely crap joke. Be ashamed.' he mock-scolded, and I allowed a small giggle to pass my lips, making Damon's lips curve in a smirk that could almost, almost be classified as a smile.

I wished it really _could _be classified as a smile... I had seen Damon smile his beautiful genuine smile but a few times, and it had been truly great to see happiness on his usual bitter or sarcastic face.

He was still handsome, though. Always handsome.

I felt a blush slowly spread across my cheeks as I realised what exactly I had been thinking about the beautiful blue-eyed vampire driving the car I was a passenger in.

'What are you thinking about?' Damon asked me suddenly with an elegantly raised eyebrow after I had been silent for a few moments.

I shrugged casually. 'Just stuff. You know- the usual contemplative, 'Why is the sky blue?' kind of stuff.' I lied. My thoughts were in no way relevant to the scientific process of light and the sky. Although, Damon's eyes kind of resembled the blue sky...

I shook those thoughts away and smiled a small smile at Damon before resting my head against the car window and absently drumming my fingers against my lap as I watched, bored, as yet more peaceful scenery blurred past as we drove.

'Bored?' Damon asked, his voice amused.

'Kind of.' I admitted.

'Then let's play a game.' I looked at him to see that he was smirking again. Uh oh. A smirk like that could only mean one thing... trouble.

'If it's anything like our _last_ game, then no.' I warned.

'Oh, no, it's nothing like that, Elena.' there was a glint in his eye as he said this. 'You'll see what I mean. So, what do you say? Want to play?'

After a long hesitation, I thought, _What the hell, _and gave in, nodding my agreement to Damon and cracking a grin when he laughed excitedly. He pulled over expertly and looked at me expectantly.

'I'll go get the alcohol, then.' he smirked.

'_What_?' I squealed. 'Damon, you said it would be nothing like our last game!'

'Oh, quit whining. All I said was that I was getting alcohol. And besides- when did our truth or dare include alcohol?'

'Shut up.' I mumbled, scowling.

**Damon's POV. **

'Shut up.' she mumbled, with a scowl twisting her beautiful face. I let out a laugh and used my extremely handy vampire speed to get some bottles from my stash of alcohol in the trunk of my car. One might ask why I would keep a secret stash of alcohol in my trunk- and one would be disappointed if one was expecting an answer. I was Damon- I just did these things. It wasn't unusual.

At least, not for me it wasn't.

I was planning for me and Elena to play a game of _Never Have I Ever_. It was always a fun game to play, and, being honest, I wanted to grab the opportunity for myself and the brunette beauty that was Elena Gilbert to get to know each other a little better. If childish teen games like this were the only way to do that, then, well, who was I to complain?

One bottle of scotch, one bottle of bourbon, one bottle of tequila, and two shot glasses. Perfect. I hurried back to Elena and smirked as I saw her eyes widen when she saw the alcohol.

'Maybe we shouldn't play a game. You're the driver, after all.' she said weakly, still eyeing the drinks and shot glasses wearily.

I rolled my eyes. 'I'm a vampire- I can handle my liqueur. And besides, Elena, it'll be fun- come on, live a little.'

She glared defiantly at me. 'I _am _living, Damon. And I plan to stay that way- which is why you should put away the alcohol.'

I just ignored her, pouring out two shots and sliding a glass over to her.

Finally, I spoke. 'We're going to play _Never Have I Ever_.'

There was a pause before she shrieked, _'No!_'

I smirked at her. 'How did I know you were going to say that?'

**A/N: There it is!  
>Was it good? Bad? Ugly? ;) Let me know in one of those pretty little reviews that I'm always nagging you to give.<br>And I thank you profusely for the ones I've already got! They're great, just like you guys. :)  
>So, yeah. Sorry the update took so long, thank you for reviewing, and enjoy summer!<br>Did I miss anything?  
>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo <strong>


	10. Journals

**Chapter 10. **

**Damon's POV. **

Elena giggled. We were only ten minutes into the game, and she'd already had to take more shots than she'd been sober enough to count. I had taken a lot of shots, too, but I was a vampire- I had extreme alcohol tolerance on my side.

'Never have I ever... kissed a man.' I smirked, and Elena made a face. She looked utterly adorable, even when drunk. Though I have to admit, she was ridiculously different when drunk compared to when she was sober. For one, she was a lot more fun.

'No fair.' she stuck my tongue out at my amused expression before downing yet another shot.

'My turn!' Elena squealed gleefully. 'Never have I ever... touched the sun!'

'I think there are too many things that you've done in your life- you're drunk, Elena.' I observed, amused.

'_You're_ drunk, Damon.' she retorted, slamming her head back into the headrest in the car seat. I rolled my eyes, smirking my ass off.

'I think you'll find that it's the other way round. Maybe we should stop playing...'

'Oh, _now _you're taking responsibility.' she teased, licking her lips. Oh, how I wanted to kiss her just then... I shook those thoughts away, focusing on the beautiful girl before me, who was currently drunk out of her mind. I needed to find a way to sober her up, and quick- but I didn't regret playing the game, not at all. I'd found out a surprisingly large amount of things about her- she bites her lips when nervous, she can't lie without mumbling the truth or some part of it under her breath, she regrets her first time sleeping with a guy, there's someone other than her boyfriend who she'd like to be sleeping with... all from just a game. If only I could find out who this other guy was, and I could kick his ass.

Unless it was me. But really, what was the likelihood of that happening?

My desperate thoughts were interrupted when her eyes drifted close, followed by the sound of soft snores. I raised my eyebrows in disbelief; did she seriously just _fall asleep_? Mid-conversation?

I sighed softly to myself, but couldn't hide the small smile that flitted across my face as I, acting purely on impulse, leaned in slowly and pressed my lips to her forehead gently, in the knowledge that it was all I could do for now.

**Elena's POV. **

I didn't know where I was, or when it was, when my eyes slowly fluttered all open. All I knew what that there was a too painful pounding in my head and a sense of blurriness to my vision. I wasn't worried, though; I knew the signs of a hangover all too well. I'd experienced them often enough.

'Ugh.' I groaned, closing my eyes again for a few moments before opening them again, wincing at the far too bright light. Yes, I knew all too well the signs of a bad hangover like this... that didn't means I enjoyed them. Quite the opposite, actually.

'Well, hello there, sleepy-head.' a clearly smirking voice broke through the throbbing silence. It was then that my vision focussed completely and I saw the amused figure sat in a seat by me.

I groaned again, narrowing my eyes at him. 'Shut up, Damon.' I scowled.

'You know you love me.' he winked. I didn't comment, just remained silent and rubbed my head- like it would make a difference.

'You got me drunk.' I accused.

He shrugged. 'You didn't object.'

'I'm sure I did.' I grumbled.

He grinned, almost sheepishly. I blinked again; wow. Damon? Sheepish? Never thought I'd see the day.

'Maybe a little.' he admitted, hands on the wheel. We weren't moving.

'You've been out cold for three hours.' he informed me. 'Thanks for wasting three hours of our day together.'

'It's not my fault!' I protested loudly, wincing.

'Is too.' he stuck his tongue out. I rolled my eyes at him, and he held out an object in his hand. An object that I recognised as a flask. I raised an eyebrow at him.

'What's this?' I asked him.

'Coffee.' he explained. 'Drink up- can't have you groaning in pain all day.'

I sneered at him before snatching the flask from his hand and draining it in a few eager gulps. The effects were almost instant- I felt better somewhat.

'Thanks.' I murmured after a few silent seconds, handing the flask back.

'Don't mention it.' he winked again, and I became curious as to why there was a taste in my mouth that wasn't coffee. It was something I'd tasted before, something familiar... but what?

'Damon?' I said slowly. 'What did you put in the coffee?'

He looked at me innocently. 'Whatever are you talking about, Elena?'

'Damon!' my voice was a warning.

'Just... you know, a little bit of my blood, to help you with your huge hangover...' he raised his hands defensively. 'So sue me.'

I groaned, for the third time. 'Why?'

'Because I care about how you're feeling.' his gaze was intense, but I couldn't avoid it, no matter how hard I tried. And I also couldn't muster up any anger at the fact that he lied to me and gave me his blood, no matter how much I wanted to.

Or did I want to? I wasn't sure any more.

'Thank you, then.' I said quietly. I noticed Damon did a double take, and I frowned.

'What?' I asked with an innocent smile.

He paused, before a beautiful genuine smile sprang up on his face. 'You're welcome, Elena.'

**Caroline's POV. **

'Just... just come home with me, Tyler. We'll get your mom the help she needs, we'll find a way for it all to work out- we can kill Klaus. Just... please.' I pleaded, now fully ignoring Jules the Bitch. Literally.

'I... Caroline...' he looked torn.

'Please. You'll get us all killed.' my voice broke into a light whisper, but I knew he heard it.

'Tyler-' Jules started, but I cut her off with a harsh glare.

'You won't be able to kill him unless it's a full moon.' I stated confidently.

Jules, to my surprise, suddenly started laughing. She laughed, and laughed, and laughed... and with each peal of mocking laughter, I became more angry with her.

'_Why are you laughing_?' I demanded furiously.

She stopped laughing, but smirked coldly at me. 'You really are stupid, vampire.' she mocked. 'Tonight _is _a full moon.'

I gasped. How. The. Hell? Seriously? Well, _damn_.

'I'm sorry, Care.' Tyler muttered.

'Even on a full moon, there's no chance!' I told him. It was nothing but honesty... I think. What if it was true that a werewolf bite could kill a vampire? Would that really apply to a vampire as strong as Klaus? I wasn't sure, but really... I wasn't too keen on finding out.

**Bonnie's POV. **

I raised an eyebrow at the book. I'd finally persuaded Jeremy to start getting to work, and we were currently looking through old diaries, grimoires and books for anything that might be useful in the slightest. Up until now, we hadn't found anything of much use... but now. Now, after looking in the diary of one informative woman, I think I found something big.

'Hey, Jeremy. Look at this.' I murmured, using my free hand to wave the younger Gilbert sibling over. He frowned and came over, peeking over my shoulder at the diary in my hand.

'Whose journal is that?' he asked me.

I smiled softly. 'Emily Bennett's.' I informed him gently. 'My however-many-great grandmother.'

It felt so strange to say that, but I guess it was the truth.

'And what does she say?' Jeremy grinned at me.

I shook my head and just showed him the journal, running my finger across the pieces of information he should read. I looked over my shoulder at him and chuckled softly at his wide eyes.

'Well, that's useful.' he muttered.

I nodded in agreement. 'Definitely.'

**A/N: CLIFFHANGER! ;)  
>First off, my apologies for the shortness of the chapter... O:)<br>I know, I'm a horrible person, it's been too long since I updated and I'm becoming far too unreliable! My deepest apologies!  
>I get distracted too easily, especially when it's sunny... and I realise I'm not even replying to reviews any more, gasp! I'll get right down to that.<br>Right, so; today you can depend on me to update once at least every two days and reply to all your wonderful reviews which I'm incredibly grateful for. :) Yay!  
>So, yes. Thank you for them, and for simply reading the story! And for favourtitingalerting the story! :D  
>Love you guys!<br>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo **


	11. What curse?

**Chapter 11. **

**Stefan's POV. **

'Bonnie, slow down.' I said. 'Tell me again.'

The young witch rolled her eyes and huffed impatiently at me. 'You should have understood with your special hearing and stuff.' she muttered. 'Anyway. I was looking through some old journals and stuff, and you'll never guess what I found out.' her voice held strange excitement.

I smiled at her. 'What did you find out?'

'Well... in Emily Bennett's journal, I found out that she did a _lot _of research on the people who chased Katherine out of England, the people who made her turn into a vampire. Boy, did she find out a lot.'

I spared a glance at Katherine, who was pointedly looking anywhere but at me and Bonnie. I them turned my attention back to Bonnie. 'Like what, exactly?'

'She was brilliant. She found out about this special dagger that kills an Original, and which also kills any vampire who uses it, but we already know that. But she also found out about the history of Klaus, and his so-called curse.' she blurted, but I understood every word, and the curiosity was eating at me.

'She did research about Klaus?' I whistled, impressed. 'I always knew she was clever and sneaky, but... wow. I didn't even think it'd be that easy for someone who wasn't a vampire.'

'I know, right? Anyway. She was told by Katherine a vague piece of information about a curse, and that's it.' Bonnie shot a glare at Katherine before looking back to me. 'So she looked into it, and found out everything about the curse. Including that the curse, the sun and moon curse... it isn't a real curse at all.'

My eyes widened. 'What do you mean, it isn't a real curse at all?'

'Klaus made it up! She had no idea why he would do that, so she looked further into it. She had, you know, other witches and vampires helping her out, so I guess that's how she found out all this information. She was given a piece of parchment with the details of the sun and moon curse, and she knew after looking closely that it wasn't drawn by her Aztec ancestors at all. She was too familiar with the Aztec drawings, and she knew a fake when she saw one.'

I narrowed my eyes. 'Then why did Klaus try to sacrifice Katherine, and why is he still after Elena?'

I smiled knowingly. 'Just because the sun and moon curse isn't the curse, doesn't mean that there isn't _a_ curse.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'There's another curse.' Bonnie said excitedly.

'What curse?' I demanded, nearly bouncing with the excitement of a new discovery.

She faltered. 'Well, she didn't find that out.' her expression turned cold. 'She was rounded up and burned at the accusation of being a witch before she could get that far.'

I frowned. 'Well, at least we have this much so far.'

She nodded, throwing another nasty glare before backing slowly out of the room, saying nothing more except a mumbled, 'Good luck with the wicked bitch of the south.'

**Elena's POV. **

'My head hurts.' I complained.

'I know, Elena. Surprisingly enough, I understood you the first four times you said that, and if you say it again, I'm going to kick you out of the car and you can _crawl _home.' he said through gritted teeth. A brief grin spread across my face at the knowledge that I was annoying Big Bad Damon, but it almost instantly dropped.

'Sorry.' I mumbled, looking down.

He sighed. 'You were much better company when you were asleep.'

'Now you're just being mean.'

'No, I'm being honest.'

'No, you're twisting the truth so it sounds horrible. You're a mean person.' I said stubbornly, crossing my arms.

'Why are you so childish?'

'Because I'm a child?'

'No, you seventeen year old woman.' he teased.

'I'm still in school.'

'You are? Oh, thank god- I think I'd have to sue the school if I knew they'd let you out with your intelligence being at its current level.'

'Shut up.' I sneered.

'Bite me. Oh, wait- that's my job.' he smirked triumphantly.

I sighed. 'If I could, you know that I would.'

'Ah, but that's the beauty of it. You can't.'

I sighed and looked at him. 'Although, should the situation be reversed...' I trailed off.

He simpered. 'Why, Elena Gilbert, are you asking me to turn you?'

'No!' I blurted, maybe too quickly. 'No.' I said again. 'I will not ever ask you to do that, Damon.'

He raised his hands defensively. 'Jeez, I get it. No need to bite my head off.'

I rolled my eyes and smiled a lopsided smile. 'Like I said, Damon. If only I could.'

**Tyler's POV. **

I wanted to go back with Caroline. God, I wanted nothing more than to do that and go back home, visit my mom in hospital and even pretend like she really is just in their because of an animal attack and everything was going to be okay.

But I couldn't do that, for several reasons. Reason number one: None of it was true. It wasn't an animal attack, and it certainly wasn't all going to be okay. Reason number two: Klaus needed to pay for what he's done. It wasn't just about my mom, not any more- the more I thought about it, the more I realised that it was a bigger picture. Klaus tried, and succeeded, in killing so many people. He was going to try and kill Elena, the girl I've grown up with my whole life. Reason number three: Jules wanted to help me, I knew that. Why couldn't Caroline see that? Maybe it was just the whole vampires-are-born-to-hate-werewolves crap. But then... why would Caroline be friends with me? In truth, none of it even made any sense.

'I don't know what to do.' I admitted.

'Just come back with me, Tyler. This plan is suicidal, you're going to get the whole town slaughtered, and that includes yourself and your mom.' Caroline pleaded, her blue eyes gazing pleadingly into my brown ones.

'Caroline, he tried to kill my mother!'

'Tyler, he needs to pay, you know that. I'm going to help you kill Klaus.' Jules purred, smiling encouragingly at me.

Oh, crap.

**A/N: Double update, yay!  
>Now, which author can you count on? ;)<br>Hope you liked the chapter! Once again, I apologise for the unbearable shortness of it, but it was late and I needed to write something, so I wrote another chapter for this while the ideas I had planned were fresh in my mind after the last chapter. Yay for all, you know?  
>Anyway! Thanks again for the reviews and such. For everything! You know!<br>Love all you guys, like cherry pies! :D  
>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	12. Craziness

**Chapter 12. **

**Damon's POV. **

'Where are we going now?' Elena asked. Again.

I sighed and looked at her. 'I told you last time, _it's a surprise_.'

She pouted, crossing her arms stubbornly. She looked adorable. 'And I told _you, _I don't like surprises.'

I raised an eyebrow. 'Not even a teensy, tiny bit? Not for me?'

She snorted. 'Nope. Now tell me where we're going.'

I smirked at her. 'Fine, I'll tell you.'

'Please do.' she smiled sweetly.

'We're going to a park.' I stated simply.

Her jaw dropped and she looked at me with disbelieving eyes. 'A park? Seriously?'

I grinned at her expression. 'What's wrong with parks?'

She shook her head, closing her mouth slowly. 'I just... didn't peg you as a 'park' type of person. Which park are we going to? I didn't know there were any around here.'

'Just a little area of trees and grass. With a kiddies play area.' I added, teasing her.

'Perfect for a kid like me.' she smiled triumphantly.

I rolled my eyes. 'Why do you act like such a kid when you're with me, yet you're so mature with Stefan?'

'I like to mirror people's actions.' she smirked. Elena _smirked _at me.

'No kidding.' I said dubiously.

She giggled, but instantly stopped when I draped an arm over her car seat. 'What are you doing?'

I raised my eyebrows at her. 'Stretching my arms out. Is that a crime?'

'No.' she frowned.

'Why do you look so grumpy?' I mocked, enjoying the game we were playing- a game of wits. I liked to think that I was winning.

'Because you're armpit is practically in my face. Did you shower this morning?' she retorted.

I was surprised at her quip. 'Yes, actually, I did.'

Not my best comeback.

'Doesn't seem like it.' she remarked, pinching her nose dramatically.

I knew she was kidding, but I withdrew my arm anyway. 'Oh, ha-ha. Your wit never fails to astound me.'

'Really?'

'Of course not. You're acting stupid and childish.'

'You mean I'm acting like you?'

'Duh.'

She laughed. It was nice to hear her laugh- she had a laugh that made you want to laugh at its ridiculousness. I let out a chuckle.

I was driving at a fast pace, the metre had just ticked past the ninety mark, but Elena was constantly complaining and telling me to slow down. If I had my way... let's just say that Elena would probably be throwing up in my lap right now.

Thank god she wasn't.

'You know, you're not bad company.' I complimented.

She raised an eyebrow and looked up at me. 'I thought you preferred me when I was asleep?'

I shrugged. 'I did. Then you proved to be witty and even mildly entertaining.'

Of course, I loved Elena's company even before this trip. Those facts just made me love her even more.

I was no longer afraid to say that I loved Elena- it was true. She was nothing like the bitch Katherine, and that was a good thing. Elena was... perfect. Well, she had her flaws, like everyone did. She was stubborn, childish and disapproving of almost everything I did. But her little imperfections just made her all the more appealing.

I shook those thoughts away. It was disconcerting to know that I was actually going soft, for a human.

But she was worth it. Oh, she was definitely worth it.

**Stefan's POV. **

'I guess that little witch is smarter than I gave her credit for.' Katherine grumbled.

I was trying to question her about this curse that was placed on Klaus, the one that apparently _wasn't _the sun and moon curse that we'd all been so confident that it was. It was frustrating to no end that we'd all been so wrong, foolish enough to believe Klaus' web of lies.

Thank you, Emily Bennett.

'Yes, she is.' I stated simply, staring at my old love. Yes, she was beautiful, who was I to deny that? She was an exact twin of Elena, except they were so different. It was subtle differences, yes, but they were there. Elena was warm and passionate. Katherine was flirtatious and cold. Elena was the helpless damsel in distress, and Katherine was the wicked witch who took pleasure in making sure the damsel's life was miserable...

I shook those thoughts away, annoyed. Yes, Katherine and Elena was different- Elena was better. Better for me.

_You keep telling yourself that..._ a voice in my head mocked. I refused to acknowledge the voice, which had been getting increasingly frequent and impossibly annoying as the minutes ticked by.

'I'm bored, Stefan. We both know that you're not going to get anything from me, and my strength is rapidly gaining. Vervain ropes won't hold me for long, you know that.' Katherine purred, fluttering her lashes at me.

I blinked, then frowned. 'Then I'll just have to use more vervain.'

With that, wearing my special gloves, I picked up another sprig of the deadly herb and slowly dragged it across Katherine's face, watching with no satisfaction as the skin beneath it slowly sizzled and burned before healing again.

She gritted her teeth, glaring at me with furious chocolate eyes. 'You'll have to do better than that, Stefan.'

I raised an eyebrow cockily. 'Oh, will I?'

'Obviously.'

'Well, then, I'll just have to try harder.' I said simply, before piercing the skin on her left thigh with a wooden dagger that had been dipped in vervain.

And try harder I did.

**Caroline's POV. **

I watched in dismay as Tyler hesitantly nodded to the bitch Jules before walking over to her.

'Tyler, no, please don't!' I cried, ignoring Jules' sharp glare.

'He's made his decision! Go!' she snapped at me.

I hissed at her, feeling my face change. Tyler let out a small gasp and stepped backwards, distancing himself even further from me.

_Crap,_I cursed inwardly, instantly withdrawing my vampire form and letting my face turn back to normal.

'Don't go.' I whispered, my voice carrying in the wind to Tyler.

'I'm sorry, Caroline. But I have to go- I need to avenge my mother.'

'She's not dead.' I said.

'But she could have died!' he snarled.

'But she didn't.' I argued, remaining stubborn.

'Just go, Caroline.' Tyler murmured, before running after Jules. I could run after him.. or I could just not. I could let him make this stupid mistake. It's not like he'd even come close, is it?

_But he could end up getting everyone killed... _a voice in my mind sang. And it was true.

So that was why I hesitantly used my vampire speed to run after Tyler and hide among the tufts of long grass, hoping to god I wasn't making a mistake.

**Elena's POV. **

'Wow.' I breathed. 'This is beautiful.'

And it was.

Damon, true to his word, had dropped us off at a park, just on the border of a small city in Virginia. He'd described it simply as grass and trees- which, in essence, is what it was. But it was also so much more than that. The grass was perfectly green and looked pretty with the sun shining down on it. The trees were unlike anything I had ever seen before- I was unsure if they actually were trees. They just looked like long, thick trunks of wood topped with red/pink leaves, with delicate white flowers dotted around them. There were so many of the beautiful trees, too. In the centre of the park was a small water fountain. The water sparkled and the stone around it was a pretty white marble. I gasped when I saw it.

In the corner, near the glossy black entrance gate, was a small area in which there were swings, a slide, a merry-go-round and a few picnic benches. The small playground looked delightful.

The park was relatively empty, apart from us. In fact, I'm positive that we were the only ones there.

'What is this place?' I asked in awe, whipping my head around to look at every angle.

Damon sounded smug when he answered. 'Pretty, isn't it? Just a little area I found when I was driving around one day. Hardly anyone ever comes here.'

'Why not?'

He shrugged nonchalantly. 'I couldn't care less. So, you like it here?'

'Like it?' I grinned. 'I love it, Damon.'

'Glad to hear it.' he smirked, throwing an arm over my shoulder and pulling me closer to him before I could protest. It was a windy day, and I was slightly chilly, so I didn't pull away- Damon felt warm. It was a nice warmth. Without thinking, I rested my head on his shoulder, not caring how much we looked like a couple.

I could feel smugness practically radiating off of Damon, so I muttered, 'Don't think this makes me any more tolerable of you.'

'Of course not, Elena.' he replied.

I smiled to myself. I could get used to this...

When I realised the direction in which my thoughts were headed, I blinked and shook them away frustratedly. No, I could _not _get used to this. This was Damon!

However nice it felt to be this close to him, it wasn't Damon that I was in love with. It was Stefan... right?

Right!

_Just keep telling yourself that, _a voice in my head mocked.

_Shut up, _I replied. To a voice. In my head.

Damon. Was. Making. Me. Crazy!

**A/N: Ta-da! There it is. :) Hope you enjoyed!  
>Thank you for all the amazing reviews, you wonderful people! :D<br>You guys seem to like the Damon/Elena interaction, so I hope to add plenty more to that. Look forward to next chapter being Delena galore! :D  
>So, hope you enjoyed. :) Love you guys!<br>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo**


	13. Revealing The Truth

**Chapter 13. **

**Elena's POV. **

'Damon!' I gasped between giggles. 'Stop!'

'What's that, sorry? I can't hear you!' was his response.

I had stupidly thought that Damon wouldn't try anything if we went into the playground area. So we went in- and I was put through the strange hell that was playtime with a vampire.

I was currently being pushed around on the merry-go-round by Damon... at vampire speed. I spun round in a blur, my hair whipping around my face. But it was actually _fun_, despite the dizziness. I couldn't stop laughing at the exhilaration of it.

'You are so not pushing me on the swings!' I laughed, gripping onto the handlebar so hard that my knuckles were white. I was surprised the flimsy little bar didn't snap off, actually.

'Like hell I'm not!' he responded, and I heard his wonderful chuckles.

'Okay, seriously!' I squealed, squeezing my eyes shut as whirls of colour blurred past me again. 'Stop!'

'What's the magic word?'

'You're so childish!'

'That's not a word.'

'_Please stop_!' I shouted, wincing at the echo of my words. Damon laughed, and suddenly the furious wind stopped, and I opened my eyes, relieved at the sight of still, non-movcing landscape.

I moved my gaze to Damon's, narrowing my eyes slightly.

He smirked at me. 'Don't act like that wasn't the most fun you've had in days.'

I tilted my chin up indignantly, refusing to reply. He raised an eyebrow, his smirk only growing.

'I'm going to take that silence as a _yes, Damon, I had such fun_.'

I sighed, letting a smile play at the corners of my lips. 'Okay, it was kind of fun.'

'Only kind of?'

I sighed again, my smile now a grin. 'That was very fun.'

'Want to do it again?'

My eyes widened. 'No!' I cried, making him laugh again. I liked Damon's laugh- it was nice.

He smirked. 'Are you sure you don't want me to push you on the swings?'

I bit my lip, suppressing a smile. 'I'm pretty sure. I actually think that little ride was enough to put me off playgrounds for a lifetime. So, thanks.' I said sarcastically, hugging myself in the cold wind. My hair blew all in my face, and my feeble efforts to blow it away were failing.

Damon smirked at me, and winked. 'Let me know if you change your mind- after all, I'm excellent with people who want to _ride_.'

I snorted rather unattractively, making a face. 'Please never make an innuendo again, Damon.'

He opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by a buzzing vibration in my pocket that made me jump.

My phone was ringing.

I sighed, fumbling in my pocket for it until I grabbed it and pulled it out, not bothering to check the caller ID before answering.

'Hello?'

'Elena.' Oh, god... it was Stefan.

I bit my lip again. 'Oh, hey, Stefan.' I said, meeting Damon's gaze. He cocked his head to the side and his expression went blank. My brow furrowed but I quickly smoothed my face out as I talked to Stefan.

'Elena, are you okay? I tried calling you three times now, and you didn't pick up...' he trailed off worriedly, and I barely refrained from rolling my eyes. Honestly, did Stefan always have to worry so much? I shot Damon an annoyed, yet amused glance which he returned, finally letting a smile crack onto his face. Stefan must have called me while I was on the merry-go-round from hell that was actually a lot of fun.

'Uh, yeah... sorry about that. I mustn't have heard it.' I muttered, brushing a strand of hair from my face.

'That's okay.' was it just me, or was Stefan's voice... distant? Far-away? I shrugged it off. 'Listen, is Damon with you? He wasn't answering his phone, either.'

I heard the undeniable note of suspicion in his voice, then, and for some reason, it annoyed me to no end. I literally wanted to reach down the phone and strangle Stefan for not trusting me, for having even one seed of doubt about my feelings for him...

… Even though I was having pretty much the same doubts, too.

'Uh, yeah, he's here.' I smiled, handing the phone to Damon. I tried to ignore that when my hand brushed his as I passed the phone into his hand, I felt a shocking electric jolt go through my body, a feeling similar to when he had kissed me earlier and every time he had touched me since then. It was nice, and I'm sure Damon felt it too, as he yanked his hand back quickly.

Damon pressed my phone to his ear, smirking as he spoke. 'Damon speaking.'

'Damon.' I heard Stefan's curt reply as my ears strained to hear more. Unfortunately, my hearing was _not _as advanced as a vampire's, and I could only make out bits and pieces of the conversation on Stefan's end.

'How are things going back there?' Damon asked, an edge of curiosity to his voice.

'Things just... Katherine not... information...'

Well, that was helpful- not.

'Damon.' I hissed quietly. 'Put it on loudspeaker.'

He raised an amused eyebrow at me but didn't question, simply pressing a button. To my relief, I could suddenly hear everything that Stefan was saying.

'Could you please repeat that, Stefan?' Damon asked. Of course, it was purely for my benefit; I shot him a grateful look, which he returned with a knowing smirk.

Stefan sighed. 'I said, things just aren't going to well. Katherine is not talking, and I'm trying to get information out of her, but she's... stubborn.'

'And how exactly are you trying to get this information out of her?'

There was a hesitation before Stefan answered, 'Vervain.'

Damon snorted. 'Well, no wonder it's not working.'

'Why?' I could hear the confusion in Stefan's voice.

Damon frowned, shaking his head in mock disappointment, even though Stefan couldn't see him. I had a feeling he was making faces for my amusement, which made me smile. However, my smile dropped at Damon's next words.

'Stefan, you don't have the nerve to take it very far. You're too...' he hesitated as he looked at me, before his face hardened considerably and continued, 'you're too besotted with her to cause anything particularly unbearable.'

Besotted? Stefan was besotted with Katherine? No... he wasn't. Was he? I bit my lip, suddenly finding the trimmed grass very interesting.

There was a short pause on the other end of the line, before a female snicker was heard followed by a long rant from Stefan. I raised an eyebrow, but didn't look up.

'I am _not _in any way even _attracted_ to Katherine, Damon! Have you lost your mind? Of _course _I'm not besotted with _her_! And besides, I love _Elena_! Not Katherine!' was basically the gist of the whole thing.

Damon looked at me with a frown. 'Good to know, Steffy.' he murmured. 'Elena sends her regards.' was all he said before he snapped the phone shut.

**Damon's POV. **

The look of hurt on Elena's face killed me. Those words were the last thing I had wanted to utter, especially in Elena's presence, but they were true. Honestly, did Stefan really expect to get over Katherine so quickly? The first sign was when he chose to ditch this road trip so he could spend a day with the Queen Bitch herself. Yes, they'd been researching Klaus... but, evidently, they weren't any more.

But whatever had happened, I didn't care. I didn't want to know. I was perfectly happy being here with Elena, listening to her infectious laugh and enjoying her intoxicating presence.

I was happy being here with the girl I loved, even if she didn't love me back... yet.

'So, what shall we do now?' I asked cheerily, eager to wipe the sad expression from her face.

She smiled at me. 'I don't know...' she paused to give me a stern yet playful glare. 'But no, you're not going to spin me upside down on the swings.'

I smirked at her. 'How did you know I'd suggest it?'

She rolled her eyes. 'You've been yapping on about it for, like, ten minutes. It wasn't too hard to figure out what you wanted to do.'

I laughed out loud and waggled my eyebrows at her. 'Believe me, honey, you have no _idea _what it is I want to do with you.'

She froze and gave me a disapproving look, biting her lip gently.

'Too much?' I guessed.

'Just a little.' she muttered.

I grinned. 'Good.'

'Why good?'

I shrugged nonchalantly, not caring what I was saying or doing, and threw an arm over her shoulder. Almost automatically, she snuggled into my warm body. I couldn't keep the smirk off my face. We got to do this twice in one hour? Cool.

'You know, you may think that it'll always be Stefan.' I murmured to her. 'But you can't deny that we have something. Something special.'

There was a short pause, and in that moment of silence, there was a million thoughts running through my head. Had I gone _too_ far? Had I said too much in the heat of the moment?

I felt my unbeating heart swell with happiness at Elena's next words- such simple words, such careless words, but words that made me fill with the hope of even a slight chance.

'I know.' she murmured. 'I know.'

**Katherine's POV. **

'Fine!' I gasped out. 'Fine, fine, I'll tell you something!'

Stefan's hand stopped dragging the vervain-soaked dagger across my chest and I swear I saw the hint of a sadistic smile flit across his face before he looked expectantly at me. I instantly regretted letting Stefan _actually _tie me up like this- it was a new low, to be tortured by a youngster. Especially a youngster who I myself had made and was in love with.

'Klaus was after me five hundred years ago- you know that, I know that, we all know that.' I rolled my eyes and grimaced as my chest healed. 'But did you know he was planning to keep me in the dark about everything? He did all he could to make sure I didn't find out about his little secret- and yes, I'm talking about the fact he was a vampire. I found out eventually, of course, and got as far away as I possibly could. But before that, I saw a whole lot of Aztec drawings. Elihan so kindly pointed them out- he treated me like a guest, like an equal and a friend.' I smiled almost wistfully at the memories of a nicer version of Elijah before continuing. 'He then just... blurted it out. All of it. I have to say, I think he was rather taken with me.' I smirked. 'And I found out about the curse, but that it was a fake- that there was another curse.'

'Tell me what it is!' Stefan demanded greedily.

I shook my head slowly, smiling seductively. '_Make me_.' I whispered, wriggling one of my hands free so I could trail my pointed finger along his chest.

He growled and slapped my hand away. 'Stop being so difficult.'

I chuckled. 'Stop pouting about your miserable life.'

He remained silent, but glowered at me and made a silent gesture for me to continue my tale.

I drove the subject away from the other curse, for now. 'Did you know that Trevor was the one who helped me? That he fell in love with me somewhere along the way and helped me escape.'

Stefan paused and I saw a quick flash of anger flit across his face before it disappeared completely. I smirked to myself. Was someone _jealous_?

'Rose gave me her blood to heal me of a wound I inflicted upon myself.' I continued, only to be cut off, to my annoyance.

'Why did you hurt yourself?'

I huffed impatiently. 'So that I could die. Then I wouldn't be part of any sacrifice.' I glared at him. 'May I continue? Yes? Thank you. Anyway, she gave me her blood to heal me. Then I figured, _better now than never_. So I went into the other room and, somehow before either Rose or Trevor could notice, I hung myself.' I shrugged casually. 'Then I came back. As you know, I have been running ever since.'

Stefan nodded slowly. 'It makes sense that you were still the same selfish, manipulative bitch back then as you are now.'

My smirk dropped and I glared at him.

'Klaus then proceeded to kill my whole family, just because I crossed him. Just because I killed myself and became a vampire. He'll do the same to Elena, and probably more. She can't escape him, you know that.' I smirked as I felt my flesh knit together after Stefan's attack. He glowered at me. I continued, 'And all that? That's not even the best part. The best part is really _why _he's after Elena.'

Stefan's brow furrowed and he leaned in intently, caught up in my- true- story. 'Tell me.' he ordered.

I smiled coldly. 'Klaus isn't just a vampire. He's a hybrid- he's half werewolf.'

**A/N: And I finally updated, yay! I am so sorry that I haven't updated in so long! I'm so awful!  
>There is a formal apology and explanation on my profile, but if you haven't seen it, it basically tells you how there has been a problem with my LibreOffice that I have been unable to fix until now. Thank you for being patient and bearing with me, it means a lot!<br>Anyway, moving onto other subjects. I hope you liked the chapter! I loved writing the Katherine/Stefan part at the end. Expect some more action next chapter, and some bigger, more meaningful exchanges to take place! ;D And that's all the hint you're getting, muahaha.  
>Love you guys! Thank you for reviewing and reading and stuff!<br>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo **


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